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Opinion: Getting to know Muslims as people, not stereotypes

Author of the article:

Samaa Elibyari, Salam El-Mousawi • Special to Montreal Gazette

Publishing date:

January 22, 2020 • 3 minute read

A member of the Baitul-Mukarram Mosque in Montreal keeps a close eye on the goings-on at street level below on Friday December 15, 2017. At the time, the mosque was one of two at the centre of false allegations reported on TVA. Now, the mosque is among several in Montreal holding open houses in connection with the 2020 edition of Muslim Awareness Week.Dave Sidaway/ Montreal Gazette

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“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Opinion: Getting to know Muslims as people, not stereotypesBack to video

Based on this conviction, activists of the Muslim community in Montreal decided to launch Muslim Awareness Week after the horrific events of Jan. 29, 2017 at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, where six Muslim worshippers were killed, 19 were injured and one man was left paralyzed.

After the initial shock and pain, we were forced to admit that the writing had been on the wall. In crescendo, we had seen hate messages scrolled on our mosques, we had overheard slurs and had received offensive comments on social media, day in, day out.

Islamophobia is thriving to a large extent due to the fact that many people in our society lack a personal relationship with us. Now in its second edition, Muslim Awareness Week is about sharing our dreams, informing the general public about our contributions to society and voicing our concerns. It is about opening a window into our lives.

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Muslims are often flattened to one dimension, Islam. Some 300,000 people in Quebec are all too often portrayed as a monolithic group marching in lockstep. Men are portrayed as religious zealots and women as submissive creatures wrapped in veils. Why are Muslims boxed into narrow categories that our society doesn’t apply to other religious groups? The caricatures fail to do justice to the complexity and diversity of our community. What is missing is the personal, human element.

For us, the best way to counter the negative stereotypes, reject the sweeping generalizations and dispel the myths is by reaching out. We want to be visible, but not only when we challenge laws that will affect us negatively. We refuse to be reduced to becoming a narrow special interest group.

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The best shield against hate and fear is for others to get to know us, as we are, not as what we are perceived to be by analogy or generalization. It is hoped that a better understanding of our reality will provide better protection than taller fences, security cameras, electronic keys and metal detectors. We want our mosques to be open, attractive and transparent spaces where people can drop in, be warmly greeted and welcomed.

In his book, The Fear about Islam, Todd H. Green writes: ‘‘What we know about Islam, or what we think we know, is filtered primarily through the media and the stories and images it provides to audiences and consumers.” Some media present a skewed picture of Muslims and Islam that creates fear and thatprevents many in our society from recognizing the values they share with us.Indeed, we adhere to the same ideals of equality between men and women. Furthermore, the majority of recent Muslim immigrants to Quebec spoke French before reaching our shores. We are devoting our energies to securing a bright future for our children and ourselves, and to advancing the welfare of our society. There is no shortage of good stories involving the Muslim community. They deserve to be more widely known.

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Political figures have an important leadership role to play. Anti-Muslim stereotypes are difficult to dislodge, so our leaders should be careful not to be seen as accepting them. They must signal the importance of embracing Muslims as full citizens.

We each have a part to play in ensuring that our society becomes inherently tolerant and fully inclusive.

Samaa Elibyari and Salam El-Mousawi, along with co-authors Ehab Lotayef, Hassan Guillet and Samira Laouni, are members of the organizing committee for Muslim Awareness Week 2020, which runs Jan. 25-31. For more information, including events schedules: ssm-maw.com

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